“The complaints of Phosphorus are most likely to arise in the feeble constitutions–born sick, grown up slender, and grown too rapidly–persons emaciating, rapidly emaciating—who have the seeds of consumption fairly well laid.” “Violent pulsations and palpitations; haemorrhagic constitutions: small wounds bleed much bright blood. Haemorrhages from all organs and tissues. Petechiae and bruisings.”
Phosphorus complaints are worse from cold and cold weather, better from heat and warm applications, except the complaints of head and stomach, which are ameliorated from cold.
In Phosphorus the symptoms of chest and limbs are relieved by heat, those of the stomach and head by cold. (It is such symptoms, contradictory in regard to the patient in general, and his parts in particular, that are of great value as pointers to the remedy that exhibits them.)
He gives the fears of Phosphorus, one of the hypersensitive remedies. “Fear something will happen: anxious at twilight: fear of thunderstorms: trembling: attacks of indigestion from fear. Fear in the evening: fear of death” fear of strange faces looking at him from the corner. Full of strange, insane imaginations.”
Apathy, indifference, to friends and surroundings, even to his children (Sepia). Will not answer, or answers slowly, thinks slowly. Vertigo and staggering. Worse from mental exertion, from noise: worse in the dark: worse alone.
Phosphorus may come in for fatty degenerations, and for softening of the brain.
The deafness of Phosphorus is especially for the human voice.
Better for eating: better for sleeping. Nausea and vomiting from putting hands into hot water, from warm room, from taking warm things into stomach. Regurgitation of mouthfuls of food are very characteristic of Phosphorus “Phosphorus is the surgeon’s friend–the great remedy for vomiting after chloroform.”
ALLEN (Keynotes) gives a curious Phosphorus symptom during pregnancy. She is unable to drink water. The sight of water makes her vomit: must close her eyes while bathing.
He says the perspiration of Phosphorus smells of sulphur.
And, remember, Phosphorus has not only burnings in stomach, etc., but also burning in lungs. A symptom that might be helpful in some cases of pneumonia.
Phosphorus affects the liver (one remembers the acute yellow atrophy of phosphorus poisoning) and is one of the remedies of hepatitis and jaundice (Chelidonium). In some of its symptoms Phosphorus reminds one of Crot. hor., rattle-snake poison.
Phosphorus affects all the organs and tissues, but its great spheres of action, for hurting and for curing, are lungs and bone–and liver. We will give a selection of the black letter symptoms of Phosphorus–somewhat condensed. They afford a key to its most useful possibilities and to the organs is most markedly affects.
By the way, in regard to the relation of Phosphorus to haemorrhages. One has seen a case of cancer of tongue where pretty severe bleeding stopped quickly after a dose of Phosphorus 200 and did not recur. On the other hand we are warned that it is dangerous to give Phosphorus in high potencies to persons with advanced phthisis, as it may start a haemorrhage that may endanger life. Here keep to the lower potencies, 12 or 30.
One remembers a youngish woman suffering from purpura haemorrhagica. She had numerous big blood blisters, and bruises. She had been warned that she must not become pregnant, and she was pregnant. Phosphorus cured the condition, and she went through a normal confinement.
BLACK LETTER SYMPTOMS
Respiration very difficult.
Great apathy: unwilling to talk.
Answers slowly and sluggishly.
Fatigue, disinclination to work, without cause.
Disinclination to study, or work, or converse, or think.
Slow ideas.
Vertigo: as soon as he made any effort to rise, the vertigo returned (Bryonia).
Could see better when pupils were dilated by shading the eyes. (Phosphorus has great photophobia.)
Nose-bleed. Nose swollen and dry.
During the prostration (of Phosphorus poisoning) tuberculosis frequently develops;at times also lobar pneumonia, terminating in gangrene of lung and pyaemia. (Here one sees the great use of Phosphorus in severe pneumonias.)
Vomiting of food. Pressure, as from a hard substance, in stomach.
Emptiness and sensation of weakness in abdomen.
Diarrhoea. Eructations as if involuntary the moment anything entered in rectum. Stool grey–whitish grey.
Menses earlier and scantier.
Rawness larynx and trachea, with frequent hacking cough and hawking.
With suffocative pressure in upper part of chest.
Voice rough—husky–can hardly speak above a whisper.
Cough with oppression of chest.
Violent dry cough when reading aloud.
Frequent dry cough, with slight dullness in right lower portion posteriorly, with diminished respiratory murmurs and fine vesicular rales. (Both lungs, especially right side.)
Tenacious, purulent mucus.
Violent oppression of chest.
Cough from constant tickling in throat. Cough with difficult respiration.
Bloody expectoration with mucus.
Bloody expectoration from the lungs.
Mucous rales both lungs, more noticeable in lower lobes.
Respiration anxious, panting, oppressed. Very laboured.
Difficult. Respiration is impeded by rapid walking.
Great dyspnoea.
Tubercles of the lungs develop, with hectic fever.
Great dyspnoea.
Great oppression of chest, so that the patient, during attack of cough, must sit up in bed, when she experiences great pain, with a constrictive sensation under sternum.
Heaviness of the chest, as if a weight were lying on it.
Distressing anxiety and pressure in chest amounting to real suffocation, so that deep inspiration was difficult, but not impossible. (If Phosphorus can cause all this, what wonder that it is one of our greatest remedies for pneumonias, and phthisis.)
Anxiety about heart and a peculiar sensation of hunger, some what relieved by eating, distressing her even in bed.
Violent palpitation.
Burning pain between scapulae.
The spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae between the scapulae become extremely sensitive to pressure.
Weakness of all limbs.
“Fingers all thumbs.”
Extensive gangrenous periostitis of tibia, with severe febrile disturbance, periosteum peeled off from a large area upwards, as far as knee-joint; the bone was rough.
Emaciation.
Lay constantly on the right side. He lay only on the right side at night.
Mucous membranes pale.
The blood from the haemorrhages was very fluid and difficult to coagulate. Sense of suffocation.
Small wounds bleed very much.
Lax muscular system.
Great weariness. Weakness. Weak and oppressed. Weak and prostrate. Excessive exhaustion.
Heaviness of whole body.
Lying on left side causes anxiety.
Ulcers bleed.
Constant sleepiness. Great sleepiness, even by day.
Cannot fall asleep before midnight.
Flushed cheeks (in fever) especially the left one.
Evening chilliness.
Cold knees constantly, at night, in bed.
Heat at night without thirst.
Febrile heat and sweat at night with ravenous hunger.
Profuse perspiration over whole body.
Profuse sweats on slight exertion.
Exhausting profuse sweats every morning.
Perspiration in the morning in bed–with feeling of anxiety.
“Of one hundred and seventy workers in match factories (mostly boys) one hundred and twenty were attacked with typhus, often complicated with pneumonia and bronchitis, that often developed into consumption” (Russian Medorrhinum Zeit., 1850).
